Who was the inspiration for the President? Why is the Fleet Carrier called
"The Ark"? What's the Hype about "Hyperdrive"? Find all this and more
below:
- Joshua Carpenter
Joshua has always been the hero of my fiction writings. So when I finally found a story
that I thought might actually make it somewhere, there was no question in my mind who would
have the lead role.
In my other stories (not so much here, at least not intentionally) this character was a
"Christ figure". So naturally he was given a name that fit. "Joshua" is the Hebrew version of
"Jeshua" or "Jesus". And since Jesus' father was a carpenter, it only seemed fitting to give
him that last name. And so was born Joshua Carpenter.
His personality (as well as some physical traits) come from a mixture of myself and the person I
wish I could be. He is my "alter ego" of sorts -- doing things I never could and being things
I could never be. This incarnation of Josh borrows some from Tom Cruise's characters in Top
Gun and other movies, but he is still me at the heart.
- Natasha Crosby
Her name and personality (though not her physical appearance) came from my favorite character
on Star Trek: The Next Generation -- Tasha Yar. Tasha is played by Denise Crosby, and thus
the name was a mix between the two. (An idea suggested by my brother.) I always admired TNG
Tasha's feisty attitude and tenacious grip on life. She would not give up no matter how impossible
the circumstances became.
Star Force's Tasha's physical appearance is still shrouded in mystery. Though I don't like to put in
physical descriptions -- I leave it up to the reader to imagine it however they please -- I always
envisioned her with long black hair, rather slim but not sultry, not "masculine" but not very effiminite
either. If I can find or make a picture that does her justice, I'll post it. But until then, it is up
to you, the reader, to decide.
- Dygo
The most interesting character on the team is a Vaxxon named "Dygo". I had a physical description in
mind when I created the Vaxxons, but I had no idea just how much it resembled "Grig" from The Last
Starfighter until I saw the movie again (for the first time in quite a few years) the summer before last.
After that, Dygo adopted some of Grig's personality and sense of humor.
However, "Dygo" is the Vaxxon translation of "Ricky" (you don't have enough access privileges to get at the
translations, but just trust me.) so he is based somewhat on myself again. His life is based mostly on my
college experience -- being away from home, feeling alienated, making new friends but still longing to go
back home, knowing this big change was for the best and almost inevitable but longing for the past when life
was so much more simple.
In fact, it is the interaction and eventual friendship between the outgoing Josh and the more introverted Dygo
that forms a large part of the story, and symbolizes a large part of my life.
- Richard Watson
Richard Watson's character was named in part after my friend Russell Watson (the brother of Shannon Watson, the inspiration for President Clarke).
He is a computer genius and was Saludatorian of my high school this year. He is very friendly and has a great sense of humor. He is also a very
skilled musician. However, his area of expertiese is in computers. All of these traits were adapted in my character Richard Watson.
Richard's physical appearance comes from the StarCom animated series. (Unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of the man I was looking for, so
I'm using a picture from the line of toys that accompanied the show.) Some of the traits of this character can be seen in Richard as well (again,
the sense of humor and other things as well).
- Sean Thomas
Image cropped from a larger image found at Filmtracks.com
Sean Thomas' character came from one of my favorite actors -- Sean Connery. "Sean" is actually the actor's
middle name. His first name is "Thomas", where I got my character's last name from. Sean Thomas still
has Sean Connery's heavy Scotish accent. Though Connery is older than my character, I still see my character
much like Sean Connery was in the hit movie The Hunt for Red October.
- Kevin "Hype" Kyme
- This Escort Pilot was named after the lead character in my brother's Sci-Fi series "The North Star Peace Corps".
His character (as well as mine) is based largely on my brother himself, though my version lacks the "superhuman powers"
seen in my brother's incarnation of "Hype".
- Ace Micheals
- Similar to "Hype", "Ace" is based on a friend of my brother (a guy named Keith). Keith has a sci-fi series himself,
staring Ace Micheals. (Here is his web page, entitled The Hunters).
I thought that since my brother and Keith (and "Hype" and "Ace", really) were such a tag-team already, they would fit quite
nicely for this part.
- Marie Stokes
- This character was named after my beautiful fiance'e, Louise Stokes. Her middle name, Marie, is used for the
character instead of her first name. Louise is going into Seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to
become a Christian Counselor -- the inspiration for Marie's career.
As you can probably guess, she and Josh will eventually fall in love and end up married, but just like Louise and I
didn't even know each other when we first came to college, and it took half a year of friendship before I even asked her
out, Marie and Josh's romance won't begin overnight. But it will come, and I'll try to portray it just as wonderful as
my relationship with Louise is.
- President Shannon Clarke
- This character was named after one of my closest friends in high school -- Shannon Watson. She was the Saludatorian
in our graduating class, and she followed me to college here. She is very self-motivated and loves to take control of a
situation. She always dreamed of herself as a pilot of the Space Shuttle or someone in the CIA. In my story, I thought
it would be a fitting tribute to have her elected as the first female African-American president of the United States.
My character's last name came from another high school friend of mine (and of Shannon's) -- Alton Clarke. He was Shannon's
counterpart in many things. I've never known two people so much alike and yet so different at the same time. They got on
each other's nerves just as much as they got along. They did enjoy each other's company, and the character would not be
complete without his half of the duo.
Don't tell Shannon, because she'll kill me! But not only did the character get Alton's last name because his
personality is mixed in with hers, but in the story -- though it never saysthis -- she and Alton are married! But
again, don't let her know. Though she wouldn't mind the idea, she flatly denies that the two of them will ever end
up together!
- Joanna Whitmire
Though Joanna is a rather minor character, this is the most unique story I have for the origin of a name, and I thought I
would share it:
I had a character who was a reporter from the Las Vegas area, one who might come back in later stories if the need arose. However,
this reporter didn't have a name. One Friday night my fiance'e and I were traveling from college back to my parents' house. She
was sleeping, and I was racking my brain trying to come up with a name for this character. Suddenly, we passed an exit sign --
Exit 60, traveling eastbound on I-26 in South Carolina -- it said, "Joanna Whitmire, Next Right".
It's as simple as that. Joanna is a small town on one side of I-26, and Whitmire is a small town on the other side of I-26. I know
people that live both places, but that's the extent of what I know about them.
Her personality (and her physical appearance, for now) is based largely on Tea Leoni's characher Jenny Lerner in the movie Deep Impact.
Anyways, I hope this has been fun for you! And I hope this page has given you some insight, not only into where
I got these names from, but about the kind of people around me that inspire this kind of thing.
